Undeterred, the 31-year-old is ready to follow the latest direction from chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns, who has suggested he needs to bat higher than his current spot at No.6.

“I’m hoping they’re not just looking at me as a specialist keeper, I hope they are looking at me as a batsman as well,” Wade told Fox Sports News.

“If I have to prove that in Shield cricket, I will. I’ll come up the order and take off the gloves.”

Wade said his past experience batting at No.6 in the Test team with Tim Paine also in the side had been a “blessing in disguise” as it “probably showed the selectors that I can play as a specialist batsman”.

“I’m not batting in the top four of five at the moment for Tasmania. But at the moment in the Test team, I feel like (a) No.5 or 6. That role would suit me perfectly,” he said.

Wade suggested last month he hadn’t heard from the selectors since being dropped from Australia’s Test and ODI teams.

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But he was glad when coach Justin Langer reached out weeks later, even if it was with bad news.

“(He) shot me an email before the start of the last Test just saying well done on my performances (but) at the moment I’m not probably going to get a look in anytime soon,” Wade said.

Joe Burns, Kurtis Patterson and Travis Head may have shone in Tests this summer, but their Ashes prospects will be heavily influenced by their performances in the Sheffield Shield, which re-starts tomorrow.

Sid Barnes is not a name a lot of people outside Australia know. He played only 13 Tests yet averaged a highly impressive 63.05 with the bat. Across 110 first-class games, he averaged an excellent 54.11.